PC4400 gone bad

[asmielia]

Hi,

I bought 2 sticks of PC4400C25 about 10 months ago or so, and they worked great for a while. I was able to get them up to DDR 590 or so completely stable. As time went on though I started getting some odd behavior in my PC. Random crashes, reboots. I'm pretty sure now that the RAM is defective. It's been a while since I did a memtest run, but basically, the higher I clock the FSB, the more unstable the system gets. Windows runs fine at 275 1:1, which is the RAM's rated speed, but Prime95 fails after 2 mins and there's general system instability.

 

If I drop FSB to 200, Prime95 runs for longer but still fails fairly quickly. Splitting the RAM up and running it in single channel fixes the problem altogether.

 

I've tried 2 sticks of XXXXXXX that I've had for a while, and they don't have any problems clocking up to their rated speed in dual channel, so I don't think it's a motherboard problem.

 

For reference I have an MSI Neo4 Platinum SLI board and an Athlon 3200+ Winchester.

 

Any ideas or is it almost definitely defective?

 

Adrian

[RAM GUY]

To properly figure out if the problem is the memory or not, you should run memtest and inform me of the results.

 

Here are the directions you can use to run memtest:

 

1. Head over to http://www.memtest.org

2. Click on the link labeled "Download (Pre-built & ISOs)"

3. Next click on the link labeled "Download - Pre-Compiled package for Floppy (DOS - Win)"

4. Download the software and Unzip the program files

5. Make sure a floppy disk is inserted

6. Run the program, when it asks which drive letter type in "a:"

7. Program should finish writing, reboot off floppy disk

8. Allow memtest to run 2-3 passes

[asmielia]

Hi,

well, I put my memory back into dual channel and I was getting some weird results. Memtest seems to pass with no errors. But I was getting video flickering in the BIOS and when running memtest. Once I got into Windows, the flickering stopped but the system crashed with a BSOD IRQL_LESS_THAN_NOT_EQUAL after a few minutes of doing nothing.

 

What is going on with this system? All signs point to the memory being faulty.

 

-no trouble when ram is in single channel at DDR200

-no POST when ram is in single channel at DDR400

-huge instability when ram is in dual channel at any speed

-no problems at any speeds with other ram sticks

-these sticks used to work fine up to DDR590 with no stability issues

 

But yet memtest passes!? Any ideas?

 

Adrian

[RAM GUY]

That might suggest a power problem, but since you say other memory works, let's get them replaced. Please follow the link in my signature “I think I have a bad part!” and we will be happy to replace them or it!

[asmielia]

Hmm, yeah unlikely that this is a power problem. The PSU is an OCZ Powerstream 520w, which should be rock solid. There are LEDs on the back indicating voltage output quality on each of the rails and they're all green. MB voltage monitoring looks good too. I live in a 3 year old building, so highly unlikely that the power coming out of the wall has anything wrong with it. Plus I had these problems at my old house too.

 

Anyway, thanks a lot for your help. I've submitted the RMA form.

 

Adrian

[RAM GUY]

No problem, please let us know when you get the new modules.

[asmielia]

Hi, I submitted my RMA request form 2 days ago using your online form, and I still haven't gotten a response. It says normal turnaround is less than 24 hours. Can I get an update on that please?

 

Thanks,

Adrian

[RAM GUY]

Please either call our customer service at 888-222-4346 and dial "0" or follow the link in my signature "If you have submitted the RMA using the on line form and have not got a reply!"